Logitech’s first Meta Quest stylus helps artists work in 3D

Today Logitech officially announced its MX Ink stylusthe company’s first mixed reality accessory for Meta Quest 2 and Quest 3 headsets. MX Ink will provide artists with a more natural alternative to Quest controllers for creating content that feels like using a pencil or paintbrush.

The tracking accuracy and low latency of Meta Quest’s native controllers have helped position the headset as more than just a gaming or media consumption device, but controllers that feel like holding and working with a can of spray paint don’t always offer the best interface for content creation. For many artists, the stylus is the tool of choice over a mouse or peripherals designed primarily for gaming, which is why companies like Wacom have thrived for decades and why Logitech is taking the stylus into the third dimension.

Appearing to be slightly thicker than Logitech styluses sold for tablets (it weighs 29 grams compared to the second-generation Apple Pencil’s 20.7 grams), MX Ink can be used like a established stylus to create 2D content in a mixed reality environment with features including replaceable, touch-sensitive tips pressure and many buttons that can be reprogrammed in the Quest’s native settings app. Confirming leaks from the weekend, the stylus also offers 6DoF tracking in 3D space, similar to Quest’s native controllers, haptic feedback and a pressure-sensitive main button, allowing artists to naturally sketch or manipulate models or objects in 3D space.

Logitech promises up to seven hours of battery life, and the MX Ink can be charged using the built-in USB-C port or the more convenient MX Inkwell Charging Station, which allows you to simply insert the stylus to start charging. However, the docking station will be an optional accessory and prices have not been revealed yet.

Five years ago, Magic Leap announced a partnership with Wacom to jointly develop tools that would enable the latter’s stylus technology to be used in a mixed reality headset, in the hopes of turning the pricey Magic Leap One into a must-have content creation tool.

Unfortunately, this collaboration required the artists to clumsily hold a physical drawing tablet in one hand and a stylus in the other, while also carrying the Magic Leap One and getting tangled up with awkward headset cables.

The completely wireless MX Ink stylus appears to offer artists much greater freedom of movement and convenience, and Logitech has already announced compatibility with a number of Meta Quest applications, including Adobe Substance 3D Modeler, Open Brush, Gravity Sketch, and Realize Medical.

Although Logitech did not provide an exact release date when MX Ink for $129.99 will be available, but is promised to be released “later this year” when it will be sold through Logitech, Meta and Amazon.